"You must come to my birthday party!" "I must to go now." "You should to call him." Small helper words like can, should and must carry a lot of feeling. Learners often translate one word from their own language, such as a single word for "must" and "have to," and use it everywhere. The result can sound too strong, too formal, or simply ungrammatical. In this episode: • The basics: no "to," no -s • Ability and permission: can and could • Advice and possibility: should, might, may, could • Necessity: have to, must, gotta, don't have to • Looking back: should've, could've, would've, must've • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: I can swim — ability She can drive — not "She cans drive" You should eat something — advice It might rain — possibility I couldn't sleep last night — I wasn't able to (past) Can I use your charger? — asking permission (casual) Could I use your charger? — a bit softer (polite) May I come in? — very polite, a little formal You can't park here — not allowed You should wear a jacket — my advice (neutral) You shouldn't eat that, it's old — advice against Maybe you should call her — gentle advice You'd better hurry — strong advice, a little warning (casual) It might rain later — maybe, about 50 percent She may be at Grandma's — maybe (a bit more formal) That could be the delivery — a possibility The keys must be in the car — I'm almost sure (logical guess) I have to go — I need to leave (neutral, said "HAF-tuh") She has to work Saturday — said "HAS-tuh" I gotta go — very casual, as in Episode 110 (GAH-duh) Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.